Retarder



Nov. 1, 1927.

A. NELSON RETARDER Filed May 1o. 1926 2 Sheets-sheet. 1

No'v. 1, 1927.-

` A. NELSON RETARDERr v Fi1ed may 1o. 1926 6 151# Z2 13 asusta-snee: 2

Patented Nov. 1, 1927.

Lamis i PATENT OFFICE.

ALBn-nfr NnLsoN, or cnrceeo, ILLINOIS, AssreNon ro 'rnn enmarcan BRAKEstron & FOUNDRY COMPANY, or WrLMrNeroN, natavfnnn, a consorten-0N orDELA WARE.

nnfrannnn;

Application filed May 1G, 1926. Serial No. 107,844.

This invention relates to retarders which are used in railroad hump orgravit7 kyards for controlling the movement of cars.

rlhe retarder shoes which directly engage the Wheels or the cars are ofsuiicient length to engage one Wheel for an appreciable period and morethan one Wheel at a time, n

sometimes being eleven feet in length. customary installation comprisestwo shoes disposed on opposite sides ot each rail and arranged to engagethe sides of the rim of thevvheel under heavy pressure which is continued While the Wheel or Wheels are passing through the retarder. As aconsequence ot the length of the shoe and the heavy pres`y sure thereonand the travel of the Wheel in contact With the shoe a Waving actionisimparted to the V`shoe and itssupport, which may at times be ofrelatively violent nature, depending upon the speed of` travel of thecar and the structure o1c the Walls and other conditions. The shoes aremade of cast iron and they are mounted on a steel support and to avoiddamage tothe shoe and for other reasons it has been customary to makethe shoe in sections. But these sections have been made and secured toYthe support in a manner which has tended to weaken the sec-v tions andincrease` the liability of fracture, w'vhich is highly objectionable ferthe reason that a brok-en shoe will most likely deraila car and damagethe retarder.

rllhe object of this invention is primarily to improve the retarder shoeand the method andmeans for mounting-it upon its sup-v port so thatthesections of the shoe may yield bodily with the Waving actionA of thesupport imparted to itby the car Wheels Without damaging the sections ofthe shoe and Without impairing the security of the fastening means. n

A further object of the invention is to increase the strength o1c theretarder shoe as Shoe sectionsf Arid a further `Object .et .theinvention to securethe sections of' a retarder shoe'to .the suppeftby aSingle fasteemsrssensfor degli. joint tensed by the asie-esst @als af n,eth1 not@ @fit-.h :s

a pair of shoes yso that each shoe may move independently of itsadjacent shoe While both shoes are still held securely upon the support.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is' a plan View of that part or" a retarder unit Which isarranged with a single rail.

-Fig. 2 is top, plan View of a retarder shoe.

Fig'. 3 a front? elevation of the retardershoe.r

yF Llis an end elevation of; the retarder unit part shown in Figpl.' y

5 is a rear elevation of an end per tion ont the retarder shoe.

Fig. 6 is a sectional View on of Fig'. 5.

Fig.` f7 is a. rear elevation mediate shoe section.

Fig. 8 is a sectional View on the line 8 8 of Fig. 7. v V Y Fig. 9 is adet-ail sectional view of one Vform of the kfastening means in which'the head oi' the bolt is seated in a pocket closed at its sides. Y l

Figs. 10 and l1 are det-ail views showings pocket open on two sides. v

Referring to the drawings 12 is a rail and the line A6--6 of an rinter-13, l'are the retarder shoes mounted upon f supports lll in spacedrelation on opposite "l "ih hkv y `t tel' sides Yoi t e rai ac suppol eXVnos vin rone piece throughout the length of the shoe Vsliding movementrelative vto theV buffers.

rl'he shoev supports are caused toslide on VWear plates 181cv slidingbars 19 which are engaged with the shoe supports and are operated bysuitable `means which it is not ne'cessary'to show or describe indetail. The Wear plates 18, are seated in' the ties 2O which arenotshoyvn in 1x but one of `Av .vhich she-Wein. Fis- 4.- f

The' @e .is alsdann @1f two 'tapered @lid Sestiolisll and .a pluralityintermediate .sections @arranged sind teendaedmounted .ii-indy and,sesurlyupen its, Support' which @steeds int-serali thibusheut 'thelength .f theshoe. A'ren orenebcks embed-dea QQ: and 'baek' lilasypcrforations 24 and may have dovetail recesses 25 to receive the castiron body of the section for anchoring the body to the back.

The opposing ends of adjacent sections are recessed to form arectangular' pocket 26 which has a circular extension 27, one-half ofeach being formed in each section so that when two sections abut end toendv the two parts of the pocket will register and form a completepocket. A bolt has its head 28 seated in the rect-angular pocket and itsshank 29 seated in the circular extension, and this bolt passes throughan opening in the shoe support and carries a nut SO. rhus a single boltis made to engage the abutting ends of two adjacent sections and therecesses in the sections necessary to receive the bolts are located inthe ends of the sections.

where they will not weaken the sections.

TEach end section is provided with a bolt pocket 3l adjacent its tapereden d to receive a bolt for securing this outer end of the shoe to thesupport. That end of the back 23 in the end section which is located inthe tapered end of the section is also tapered and is preferably cutaway at 32, on opposite sides to form a point 33 which is bent down, asshown in Fig. 6.

Instead of making a closed pocket 26 I may provide an open sided slotSli to receive the head of the bolt, as shown in Figs. l0 and ll. rlhepocket in both forms, or in any other form in which it may be madewithin the scope of my invention, preferably has its wallsarranged toengage the head of the bolt to prevent the bolt from turning when a toolis used 'for applying or removing the nut.

The retarder shoes are adjusted, for open ation, so close to the railthat the wheel entering between the shoes spreads them apart. rEhe shoesare subjected to heavy pressures by the operating mechanism and also bythe wheel and they are also subjected to severe shocks and jars from thewheel and to considerable strain in service. TWhen the wheel enters oneend of the retarder between the two shoes it spreads the shoes apart atthat end; the steel supports yield at that end to permit the spreading,butl the shoes 'do not spread land the supports do not yield beyond thearea affected by the wheel. As .the wheel travels through the retarderthe area of the shoes and supports affected by the wheel also travels.lin this way a wave action is imparted to both shoes and supports. Thesupports being preferably made of steel will yield suiif cient toaccommodate this wave action, but the shoes are generally made of castiron and provision must be made to prevent the shoes from fracturino;vunder the wave action of the supports. This I have accomplished in asimple manner by providing the fastening means for securing the shoesections to the support at the joints between opposing ,ends j Lernensof adjacent shoes. Therefore, whatever movement there may beof onesection relative to another will occur at the joints between thesections and not in the section itself. In this way each individualsection is capable of a limited bodily movement without liability ofbreaking. rhe steel back reinforces and strengthens the cast iron bodyof the shoe section and also holds the parts ofthe body together inevent that it becomes fractured so that the section may continue in use.

rlhe provision of fastening devices at the joints reduces the numberoffastening devices necessary to secure a shoe to the support and itlocates the fastening devices where they will securely hold the sectionson the support, but at the same time will permit a limited movement ofone section relative to its adjacent section to prevent damage to theshoe from the back pressure of the wheel as it progresses through theretarder, and notwithstanding such back pressure may be suticient toproduce a progressive yielding of the support carrying the shoe.

Changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of thevarious parts of my invention and the shoe may be embodied in retarderinstallations of difierent kinds; and therefore I reserve the right tomake all such changes as fairly fall within the scope of the followingclaims i claim: 1. A retarder comprising a support and a sloe mountedthereon, said support being continuous and capable of yielding` in awavy movement as a wheel travels in vcontact with said shoe, and saidshoe being made in sections arranged end to end and secured to the shoeso that eachsection is capable of a limited bodi'ly movement independentof the other sections to conform with the wavy movement of the support.

2. rifhc combination of a support, alre-V tarder shoe comprisingl aplurality of sections arranged end to end. andrmeans er;- tending acrossand engaging opposingY ends of adjacet sections for sec-urina` thesections to the support. Y Y

3. rlie combination of aa supporty a retarder shoe comprising aplurality of sections arranged ond to end, and means located between andengaging opposing ends of adjacet sections for secnrig the sections tothe support.

at. rlhe combination of a supportparetarder shoe comprising plurality ofsec-- tions arranged end to end, said sections having openings at theiropposingends located partly in one section and partly inthe other, andbolts passing through said openings and engaging the supports forsecuring the sections to the support. w

5. rfhe combination of a support, a retarder shoe comprising a pluralityof' sec-` tions arrangec end to end, adjacent sections having a pocketformed in their opposing ends part'ly in one section and partly in theother, and bolts arranged in said pockets and engaging the support tosecure the shoe to the support, Walls of Said pocket beingv arranged toengage the head of the bolt to prevent rotation of the bolt.

6. rThe combination of a support, a retarder shoe comprising a pluralityof sections arranged end to end, adjacent sections having pockets attheir opposing' ends partly in one section and' partly in the other,said pockets being rectangular in shape and having circulaieirtensions,and bolts having their heads arranged in said rectangular pockets andtheir Shanks in said circular eX- tensions and engaging said support tosecure the shoe thereon.

7. A retarder shoe comprising a plurality of sections arranged end toend, and a ineta'l back embedded in the body of each of said sections,the opposing ends of said backs in adjacent sections being in abuttingrelation when the sections are arranged in a complete shoe.

8. A retarder shoe section comprising a body having a tapered end, and ametal back embedded in said body, the end of said back einbeddedin thetapered end of the body being tapered to Contorni with the body an-dturned inwardly at its point.

9. A retarder shoe section comprising a body having a tapered end, and ainet-al back embedded in said body, the end of said back embedded in thetapered endvof the body being tapered to conform with the body and outout at its sides, and the point between said out outs being bentinwardly.

` ALBERT NELSON.

